


And Now I’m a Cat Mom

by Vinitharius



Category: Warcraft - All Media Types, World of Warcraft
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 04:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19099828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vinitharius/pseuds/Vinitharius
Summary: The Lord Admiral is on vacation and finds a stray cat.





	And Now I’m a Cat Mom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MarieAnne_Cormier](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarieAnne_Cormier/gifts).



> For my awesome friend, Marie.

Sylvanas Windrunner pulled her forces from the battlefield. They weren’t prepared for the Lord Admiral's appearance in the fight. Jaina Proudmoore seemingly materialized from nowhere and turned the tides of the battle. She even managed to strike Sylvanas with a spell, but it didn’t seem to do much but tickle her. Or that’s what Sylvanas thought. 

A bit after the fight, Sylvanas noticed a shortness of breath after exerting herself. Which was strange considering she no longer needed to breathe, save for the breath needed for speaking. Her strange condition continued to worsen. The shortness of breath was persistent. To make matters worse, she suffered from constant chills, chest pain, and an annoying ringing in her ears. No matter what she did, the Banshee Queen was followed by that incessant thumping noise. 

_Just what did that blasted mage do to me?_

Sylvanas tried to act normal, but her condition was eventually noticed by Nathanos. “Dark Lady, are you ok? You’ve been acting strangely for weeks.” 

“I’m fine, Nathanos,” she dismissed, “I think I’ll head back to my chambers.” 

Once she reached her room, she stripped out of her armor for something far more comfortable. Sylvanas felt exhausted and fell asleep on her bed that she only kept around for aesthetic purposes. Just because she didn’t need sleep or a bed didn’t mean her room had to look like a soulless study. It was the small things that made Sylvanas’ _unlife_ more bearable. 

Sometime during the night, she got colder. Sylvanas got up and grabbed her cloak from the floor and wrapped it around herself before jumping under the covers. She was starting to get tired of this perpetual coldness she felt. 

* * *

Nathanos arrived outside of Sylvanas’ chambers. She was uncharacteristically late for the war meeting, so he decided to personally check up on her, especially after how strange she was acting the night prior. 

“Dark Lady, are you ok?” Nathanos called from outside the door. After waiting quietly for a few minutes, Nathanos knocked louder and called out again, “Sylvanas, I’m concerned! If you don’t answer soon, I’ll be forced to enter.” Still silence. “Okay, I’m coming in!” He produced the key to her door and let himself into the room. 

The room was still dark. Everything was still. “Sylvanas!” He yelled. Perhaps she just couldn’t hear him from outside the room. She wasn’t at her desk doing paperwork. She wasn’t lying on her bed. She _probably_ wasn’t in her bathroom, there wasn’t any light coming from that room, and Nathanos was pretty sure she’d kill him if he entered. No windows were open, and no one saw her leave. Sylvanas was just gone. 

Looking back over the room, Nathanos noticed a small lump in the Warchief’s bed. It was too small to be a person, but still, he wanted to be through. Pulling back the sheets, he found the Dark Lady’s red cloak. The small lump under it hissed at his touch. It wasn’t the hiss of a pissed off Banshee Queen but one of a _very_ angry animal. 

He picked up the cloak, and the creature took off, but not before Nathanos got a good look at the cat’s face. It had the most majestic blue eyes he’d ever seen. The cat leaped off the bed and darted under it. 

He sighed as he dropped on the floor and looked under the bed. As expected, those angry eyes glared back at him, but he realized where he saw them before. It felt like a lifetime ago, but those eerie glowing blue eyes staring back at him definitely belonged to the Ranger-General. 

“Here, kitty, kitty,” he called out trying to coax the cat back to him, “Here, kitty, kitty.” 

“Nathanos, what the _hell_ are you doing on the floor?” cried out a female ranger. 

Nathanos jumped, slamming his shoulder into the bed’s wooden frame. He felt the furry devil bite into his wrist as he attempted to capture it. The cat evaded his hand, bolted out from under the bed, and gunned it for the open door. 

The female ranger saw the grey blur coming at her and with her fast reflexes caught the escaping feline. The cat relaxed and purred in her hands as Anya asked, “Where’s the Warchief, and what’s up with the new cat?” 

“That _is_ the Warchief,” Nathanos said bluntly. 

“How do you _know_ that this is the Dark Lady?” Anya asked skeptically, holding the grey cat to her chest. “Maybe Sylvanas is pulling another prank on you?” 

He knew she was referring to the time Sylvanas tied her cloak on a dog and sat the beast on her throne in the Undercity. Nathanos had the misfortune of opening the door and letting the dog loose. In his surprised state, he assumed the Dark Lady was magically turned into a dog, and he raced after her. 

Nathanos caused quite a spectacle as he chased the mutt down the streets. He was yelling, “Heel, heel,” as he sprinted down the streets. People stood and watched as the Banshee Queen’s champion chased after a dog wearing a red cloak. He barely got his hands on the dog as a bright flash came from his left, blinding him. 

The dog escaped his grasp as he recovered from the sudden light. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at the direction the flash came from. He heard something mechanical turn as Velonara pulled something out and waved it about. “Oh, yes!” she exclaimed, looking at the developing polaroid. The photo managed to capture Nathanos mid-lunge, grabbing the cloak with a goofy grin on his face. “This is _definitely_ going in the scrapbook.” 

“Hey, Champion!” cried out another dark ranger, “How’s the run going?” 

“Anya, Velonara, you’re supposed to be on patrol,” Nathanos chastised, trying to reflect the attention of himself. 

“Mmm, do you want us to help with your dog problem?” Velonara asked smirking. 

“You might want to hop to it. Sylvanas is gonna be pissed that you lost her favorite cloak,” Anya added, “Speak of the devil. Here she comes.” 

“Nathanos, what _are_ you doing out here?” Sylvanas started. 

“I--um,” Nathanos hesitated, “I--” 

“He lost the dog.” 

“Oh, is that all?” Sylvanas said. She let out a sharp whistle, “Here, boy!” A flash of red flew by and stopped Sylvanas’ feet. “Good dog,” she said, petting the dog as she unhooked her cloak from him and donned it herself. “Let’s go, Nathanos. You’ve already woke the dead with the racket you caused.” 

Nathanos knew his leader wouldn’t pull such a prank in the _middle_ of the war. His old friend was many things, a prankster being one of them, but to leave at a crucial part of the war just wasn’t Sylvanas’ style. 

“Here, I’ll prove it,” Nathanos said, holding out his hands to receive the cat from the dark ranger. 

Anya carefully passed off the cat to Nathanos who held the hissing creature by the torso, far away from his body. 

“You’re going to need to pull her closer if you want her to stop fighting,” Anya complained. “Cats like to feel safe. You’re holding her too far. She feels like you’re going to drop her. Pull her close.” 

Nathanos hesitated before pulling the cat closer to his body. “See, this has to be the Warchief.” He flinched as the cat’s swiping claws got closer to his face. Another flash went off, and the machine spat out another photo. 

“Another _purr_ fect photo.” Velonara managed to catch the exact moment the cat struck his face in a vicious swipe. 

“Dammit, Velonara,” Anya facepalmed. She was starting to regret buying that camera for her. 

“Only a _master_ can pull off such photos. And even for one such as myself, there's only so much I can do with _that_.” 

Nathanos rolled his eyes, “Now, we need to keep this a secret,” as the apparent cat Sylvanas kept swiping at him. 

“Aw, look at the cute kitty,” Velonara cooed, reaching her hand into pet the cat. “Ouch!” The cat apparently didn’t enjoy her cute remark. “ _Definitely_ Sylvanas, alright.” 

“Nathanos, Velonara, not to rain on your parade, but that’s a feral cat.” Anya pointed to the grey cat still struggling in Nathanos’ uncomfortable grip. “Plus, I have a hard time accepting _any_ animal wants to be held by you.” Velonara opened her mouth before Anya cut her off, “No dear. As I said, it's a feral cat, and you wanted to pet it.” She ended, gesturing to their bleeding injuries, “Both of you deserve all of that.” 

Nathanos huffed, “No, it's the Warchief. I know it.” He held out the grey cat for the other rangers to see. “Look at those blue eyes. Do they _not_ remind you of certain Ranger-General?” 

Anya looked from a distance while her idiot girlfriend leaned her face in near the cat’s razor-like claws. The cat dangled limply looking pissed off while Nathanos held it from under its arms. The two looked at the cat’s blue eyes and the black markings running down its face. The eyes were like the former Ranger-General’s, and the markings were similar to the Banshee Queen’s facial scars. 

Velonara cried out, “Belore, it does!” 

“Okay, so the Warchief is a cat.” Anya begrudgingly accepted. “Now what?” 

“We keep her in this room, and we hope she returns to normal,” Nathanos explained, trying to hold the struggling cat. “If we act like nothing happened, we can keep the other members of-” The cat bite him hard enough for him to finally decided to place her down on the ground. Cat Sylvanas ran off to a dark part of the room as Nathanos continued, “-the Horde in the dark long enough for Sylvanas to return to normal.” 

The very next morning, Nathanos woke the whole of Grommash Hold screaming for someone to stop a cat. He completely underestimated the speed and agility of cats, and now Warchief was lost. 

* * *

_A few weeks later…_

Lord Admiral Jaina Proudmoore strolled around Boralus. She was taking her time looking through the various vendors’ wares. For some reason, the Horde was laying low. Anduin's spies reported a large problem within the Horde’s upper leadership, but they weren’t too sure what it was. Jaina for one didn’t really care too much as she could use a long vacation to relax and breathe for once. 

“Honey, _look_ the cat’s back,” cried a middle-aged shopkeeper. 

“I’ll get the broom,” replied the husband, irritated to see the “ungrateful bastard” return to his shop front. “Oh. Lord Admiral, what a pleasant day to see you,” he exclaimed, sheepishly hiding the broom behind his back. The last thing he needed for business was the Lord Admiral thinking they were animal abusers. “Um,” he started, knowing there was no way Jaina didn’t hear their conversation, “I was just trying to get rid of that cat out front. It’s scaring away my customers with its antisocial behavior.” 

“If you want, I’ll deal with the poor creature,” Jaina offered. 

“Umm, that guy out there is quite vicious. Are you sure?” 

“I can handle a small cat,” replied the Lord Admiral. 

By the time Jaina looked back for the cat, the creature in question had vanished. From the commotion of rustling glasses, she could tell the cat disappeared into the alley. 

Jaina walked down the dark alley and saw eyes glaring back at her as the creature growled from the crate it hid in. The Lord Admiral bent down, ignoring the fact she was staining the whites of her outfit. “Hey, kitty.” Jaina held out her arms, “Wanna come here?” 

The cat popped its head out of the crate to look at her, and it slowly slunk its way over to her. As it got within arm’s reach, Jaina attempted to grab ahold of it. However, it darted out of her reach at the last second. 

The cat sat a few feet off and stared back at her as Jaina tried to coax it back. “Hey now, I won’t hurt you.” The cat slowly blinked at her and walked back over to her outstretched hand. “Good kitty,” Jaina said while she petted the cat. She scratched its head before running her hand down the length of the cat’s back. Jaina grimaced as she felt the dried salt and god knows stuck to the cat’s fur. She thought, _I’m definitely giving it a bath once we get home._

To Jaina’s surprise, the cat didn’t mind too much when she picked it up. The initially the cat fought her hold before it found a good spot and clung on her shoulder. The cat purred as it dug its nails into her cloak. Jaina’s new companion fell asleep as she made her way back to the keep. 

Jaina quietly closed the door to her room as she worked out the best way to wash the cat without getting clawed to ribbons. She grabbed a towel and decided to play it by ear. No matter what she’ll do, she figured it would piss off the cat, but it needed to be clean if it wanted to live with her. 

The cat woke up when Jaina turned on the tap. Naturally, the cat fought her as she lowered it into the sink. After 5 minutes of getting bitten, scratched, and hissed at, Jaina managed to wash off most of the filth on the cat. She toweled the cat dry as it, glared back at her. 

Its deep blue eyes burned like fire as Jaina said, “Don’t look at me like that, cat. I’m not letting you track in dirt into my bed.” 

She paused to look over her work. The grey cat was significantly cleaner, and Jaina noticed the cat’s tiger stripe markings. They were slightly darker than the rest of the cat’s grey body. Its face had vertical black stripes lining its eyes. 

A knock came from outside the room. Jaina left the bathroom with the cat trailing behind her as she went to open the door. 

A servant waited outside holding a tray, “Lord Admiral, your mother is concerned about your eating habits, or lack thereof, and has sent something up for you.” 

“Oh yeah, thank you,” Jaina responded, taking the food from him. The only time she ate was that small snack she picked up while walking through the market. 

The cat sitting patiently behind Jaina left out a mew to grab her attention. 

“Aww, I didn’t know you had a cat, Lord Admiral,” the servant blurt out after seeing the cat stroke itself across Jaina’s legs. 

“I just found her today,” Jaina explained as the servant bent down to pet the cat. The servant jerked back his hand as the cat growled and attempted to attack him. Jaina shoved the prowling cat back before she could attack the poor man’s ankles. “I’m sorry,” Jaina apologized, “She’s never done that before.” 

“Maybe she’s hungry. I’ll go get something for her.” 

Jaina looked disapprovingly down at her new cat. The feline in return huffed and glowered back at Jaina. Their staring contest ended when the servant returned with another dish. 

Jaina uncovered the two plates, revealing a steak dinner for herself and fresh salmon for her pet. She placed the plate on the ground near her desk as she sat down to eat her own dinner. 

Jaina cut into her steak. The steak had a nice sear which kept the piece juicy. Its inside was still red. Medium rare. Just the way Jaina liked it. Just as she brought the fork to her mouth, Jaina heard a mew from beside her. 

Jaina made the mistake of looking straight into her beseeching blue eyes. “No, you have your own food,” Jaina said, breaking their eye contact and shooing the cat back to her dish with her foot. Moments later, she felt small paws on her right thigh as the small creature leaned up on her hind legs trying to reach her plate. 

“No,” Jaina said pointedly as she gently pushed the cat back. 

Jaina was nearly done with her dish as the cat continued to watch her eat. Jaina sighed and said, “Fussy feline,” as she cut off a piece for the cat. The feline happily purred as she devoured Jaina’s steak. 

Jaina slipped off to the bathroom to change into night clothes as the cat finished off the meal. Upon Jaina’s return to the room, the cat jumped up on her bed to greet her with a scream. Jaina pet the feline as she recalled she still hadn’t come up with a name for her yet. 

“I still need to name you.” Jaina mused out loud, “How about Mackerel, Mac for short?” 

The cat pulled its ears back in disgust as its tail twitched about. 

“Picky,” she remarked. Jaina thought back to their dinner exchange, “Fancy cat. What about Lady?” 

The cat seemed to be fine with it. “Lady it is then,” Jaina said happily. She yawned as she looked at the paperwork she still needed to finish. “I guess they can wait until tomorrow.” Jaina moved her sheets and killed the lights. The Lord Admiral fell asleep with her new friend at the end of the bed, watching her in the darkness of the room. 

* * *

_Soon after the Warchief escaped..._

Nathanos stood on the streets of Orgrimmar, stopping every person he could to ask them if they saw a cat. Most people saw him from yards off and took a lengthy detour to avoid him. Others barely listened to his question as they continued on with their day. 

“We heard reports of a creep harassing people for a cat. It figures it would be you, Nathanos.” 

He sighed if Anya was around, then the other wasn’t too far away. _Why can’t it be_ anyone _else?_ Nathanos thought to himself, as the woman in question walked up behind him and slapped him on the back. 

“Don’t worry we brought something to help,” Velanora said, handing him a piece of paper from the pile she carried. “Fliers!” 

On the piece of paper was a copy of the photo of the cat swatting him in the face. The photo wasn’t very flattering for him as he contorted his face awkwardly to avoid the cat’s sharp, unforgiving claws. Never in his life did Nathanos see a cat with such a smug face landing a hit on him. The paper said: “MISSING: Grey cat with blue eyes. Hobbies: Hitting dummies in the face. CASH REWARD!” 

“Come now,” Velanora called, tossing him a staple gun, “These aren’t going to hang themselves.” 

* * *

Jaina woke up in the middle of the night startled as she felt something incredibly warm glued to her side. She quickly ran her hand against the offending object, feeling its soft fur. _Oh yeah, the cat._ Jaina thought as she rolled further away from the mini furnace. 

No less than 5 minutes later, she felt the cat back at her side. The cycle continued until Jaina reached the edge of the bed. _I’m not letting a cat take over my bed._ Jaina then reached over and shoved the cat away from her. She heard Sylvanas hiss followed by a thump as her cat jumped off the bed. 

A few minutes later, Jaina was woken up with a thump as the cat managed to jump up on a piece of her furniture. She didn’t bother to check and closed her eyes. Whatever it was could wait until morning. Jaina then heard the crinkling of paper and the clink of glass. The cat managed to pick the worst place to mess with. Lady probably went for one of her feather quills. 

Sitting up in bed, Jaina glared at her cat. “Stop it,” she commanded. 

The cat seemed to stare back as if she was asking, “Or what?” before she continued to mess with the stuff on the desk. 

Jaina had a few options: ignore the cat, get up and deal with her, or option three. 

Jaina figured the cat already ruined her papers by dumping the ink all over the paper, so she summoned a water spell and struck the cat. The water sprayed out in a light mist annoying the cat enough for her to jump off the desk. 

Seconds later, just before Jaina fell back asleep, she heard light thumping. The cat apparently got the feather off her desk and proceeded to pounce on it, _repeatedly_. Jaina groaned and tried to block out the sound. _Perhaps the name Lady isn’t right._ She thought as she fell asleep, _That cat is a mischievous demon._

The next morning Jaina assessed the damage. The cat dumped her ink over the papers and tracked it everywhere. Paws prints were all over the floor and even midway on the walls. The perpetrator was lying happily on the floor in a beam of sunlight with Jaina’s quill in her clutches. 

Jaina decided it was best to leave the cat in her room as the cat just attacked another servant who delivered their breakfast. 

The cat cried when Jaina left to deal with Alliance affairs. The staff made the mistake of checking in on the Lord Admiral’s cat only to receive growls and injuries. Eventually, the news reached her mother. 

Katherine Proudmoore walked down the halls on the way to her daughter’s room. The hallways were filled the wailing cries of her daughter’s new cat. The distressed calls stopped when she approached the door. When Kathrine opened the door, the cat lied down and sighed. Katherine wasn’t really a cat person, but even she had to feel sorry for the poor creature. It was clear the crestfallen feline missed her daughter. 

The grey-haired woman bent down to pet and console the cat. “You miss her, don’t you?” she asked while scratching the cat’s chin. The cat’s ears perked up. “Jaina.” The cat’s response was to purr louder as it got up and rubbed itself across Katherine’s legs. Katherine scooped up the cat. “Let’s go find my daughter.” 

Jaina was relaxing on break from her meeting with the other Alliance leaders. They were talking about the Warchief’s absence, likely to enact some nefarious scheme. There was talk about a secret project black cat or something. Either way, the Horde was up to something. 

Lady Katherine Proudmoore searched all over the keep with the cat in tow until she found her absent daughter in the courtyard. Katherine called to Jaina, who jumped at hearing her mother yelling her name. 

Jaina turned around and was surprised by her mother holding her cat. She was expecting her to go on about her being unable to keep the creature. “Mother, I can explain. She a good cat, but I’m working on the biting thing.” 

“Jaina, dear,” her mother interrupted, “I don’t know what you’re going on about, but you need to take better care of your cat.” 

Sylvanas thrashed in her hold until Katherine released her. The cat landed gracefully on the floor and sprinted over to Jaina. 

The mage cried out as she felt her cat’s nails as her cat scaled her like a tree. Jaina caught and cradled the cat in her arms before more damage could be done to her wardrobe. “My cat is fine. She has water and a litter box in my room.” 

“Your cat wants attention and wailed like a banshee,” Katherine rebutted. 

Jaina leaned down to the purring cat in her hands. “You big baby.” 

“By the way,” the older Proudmoore added, “what is your cat’s name?” 

“Lady Mischief,” Jaina answered. “Also known as the royal pain in my ass. She kept me up last night with her shenanigans.” 

“Try playing with her some more,” her mother suggested, “and at the very least keep Lady Mischief with you until you’re done with the meeting. People would like to keep their hearing intact.” 

Jaina reappeared at the meeting with Sylvanas still curled up in her arms. Anduin noticed her new addition and remarked, “Auntie Jaina, I didn’t know you had a cat.” He reached over to pet the cat before Jaina could stop him. 

“Caref--” Jaina started to warn, but Anduin’s hand was faster. 

Anduin misread the cat’s exposed belly as a sign to pet her, but in reality, it was a trap. Before the young king knew it, his hand was snagged by claws as sharp teeth bit into him. Anduin yelped and jumped back, freeing his hand. 

“Sorry about that, Anduin. I just rescued her from the streets, and I’m still working on the behavioral problems.” 

“No, it’s fine. It didn’t hurt that bad.” Anduin lied, looking over his injury. The cat managed to produce a vicious gash on his inner arm, but it was something he could heal discreetly when Jaina’s back was turned. 

“I still say we should attack the Horde first while they’re weakened.” 

“Genn, we can’t do that,” Anduin said, shutting down his plans. “We’re the good guys. How would it look if we attacked a peaceful horde settlement? All it would do is add fuel to the fire.” 

The cat in Jaina’s arms was staring down Genn with a look of pure disdain as he continued to rant about the _evil_ Horde. 

“I’m just saying we need to attack before the Horde can get ‘Operation: Black Cat’ off the ground.” 

“We don’t even know what it is!” 

Jaina quietly slipped away from the meeting. It was going nowhere, and the Alliance didn’t need her to listen to their pointless argument. Plus, Jaina had to redo the paperwork that got ruined last night. 

* * *

_Evil Operation: Grey Cat_

“This _isn’t_ a grey cat.” Nathanos said to the goblin, “You just took a white tabby and painted it grey.” 

He looked at the next person and frowned. Nathanos waved his hand, dismissing them. “Do these people _even_ read? A _black_ cat, really!” This had been going on for weeks and getting them nowhere closer to finding the Warchief. It was just random people bring in cats after seeing the posters they hung around town. 

“Of course, they do,” Velanora said, “They just happened to _only_ read the words ‘cat’ and ‘cash reward’ before they grabbed the nearest tabby and booked it over here.” 

Nathanos gasped as a forsaken woman stepped up with a grey cat in hand. It looked exactly like Sylvanas. “This could be the one,” he said as he tentatively reached his hand towards to cat to pet it. To his surprise, the cat leaned in and started purring. He grimaced, pulling back his hand and wiping it on his shirt. “Next!” 

Velonara leaned in and whispered to Nathanos, “What if Sylvanas isn’t in Orgrimmar anymore?” 

Nathanos gritted his teeth as he put on a false smile for the people in front of the line, “Don’t _even_ joke about that.” 

Time was running out for the Horde’s current leadership. Rumor has it that Saurfang was in contact with Thrall. 

* * *

As Jaina walked away from the meeting room, she ran across her brother. Tandred exclaimed, “What a handsome grey mackerel tabby you got there!” 

“Her name is Lady Mischief,” Jaina said. 

“Well then, Lady Mischief,” Tandred bellowed, hugging Jaina. “Watch over my sister. She has a tendency to overwork herself.” 

“I do not.” Jaina huffed. 

“And where are you going?” he asked grinning, already knowing the answer. “You’re going to your room to do paperwork, again. Aren’t you?” 

“Fine, I am,” Jaina admitted. 

“Good,” Tandred said, releasing her from his bear hug. “Watch her,” he reminded petting the cat. 

Jaina returned to her room and promptly started on the papers. Hours went by, and Jaina finished them and then she started working ahead on tomorrow’s set. It was nearing midnight when Jaina felt paws on her leg. “I’m fine. I’ll be finished in a few minutes.” 

It’s safe to say Jaina got distracted again and her cat wasn’t having any of that. Suddenly, a grey blur crossed Jaina’s vision before it flopped down on her paper, making work impossible. 

“Alright, I get the message,” Jaina conceded with her cat screaming in her face. This time she remembered to put stuff up. This time the mini menace couldn’t break stuff or keep her up. 

At the last second, before going to bed, Jaina decided to lock the cat up in the bathroom. A choice she thoroughly regretted the minute the cat started pounding and pulling on the door. Even in the darkness of the room, Jaina could vagally see a paw peeking out from under the door. She might have won the battle for her bed, but Mischief wasn’t letting her win the war for sleep. The repetitive sounds of the wooden door slamming into the doorframe almost caused Jaina to get up. 

Almost. 

The thumping sound was replaced by the jiggling of the doorknob. Jaina was dumbfounded when the door swung open, and the feline strode out triumphantly. Her surprise was ended the moment her cat jumped up on the bed, trampling her on the way to her pillows. Sylvanas flopped down above Jaina and rested a paw on her head as she purred. 

Days past and the two fell into a routine. Whenever Jaina woke up, Lady Mischief was nearby her side. On the days where Jaina was exhausted and running late, she would feel a small paw on her chest before her companion screamed in her face to get up. 

Wherever the Lord Admiral went, her cat followed. The soft pitter patter of paws trailed behind Jaina as she went on with her day. At the end of the day, they returned to her room, where Jaina would vent about the day and decompress while petting and playing with her cat. 

It was widely accepted that the grey cat was a support animal and welcomed all around the keep, including the dinner table. 

Jaina fully expected to be reprimanded by her mother for bringing a “filthy beast” to the table, but surprisingly she didn’t have a remark about her cat. In fact, her mother, the self-proclaimed “not a cat person,” greeted the feline. 

The mage was expecting her to say something when Mischief did the unthinkable and leaped up onto the table. Her mother didn’t even bat an eye and just continued eating. 

“Why aren’t you saying anything about my cat?” Jaina questioned wanting to know why all of a sudden her mother apparently didn’t mind cats. 

“What do you mean dear?” 

Jaina gestured to Sylvanas who prowled the table. “The cat eating with us?” 

Katherine leaned over to scratch the grey cat’s chin. “Ever since you found Mischief, you’ve been doing much better. You seem less stressed, and you’re taking better care of yourself.” The cat purred as older Proudmoore scratched her behind the ears. “As far as I’m concerned, she’s family and allowed to eat at the table. However, I do wish she’d stay at one plate, preferably her own.” 

But that was a lost cause as Sylvanas evidently enjoyed stealing food from Jaina’s plate, and only Jaina’s plate. 

* * *

Sylvanas Windrunner woke up shivering and alone. Jaina had left prior to her waking up. She decided to let her cat sleep instead of disturbing her. 

Sylvanas brushed away her long blonde hair from her face, and that's when she noticed one very important fact. Apparently, Jaina’s spell finally wore off, and now that meant she was very naked in the room of her enemy, and most importantly, very cold. 

Her lack of dress didn’t bother her, but the coldness had to stop. Sylvanas spotted Jaina’s discarded cloak on a chair and seized it. It smelled like her, and it was comfortable. Suddenly Sylvanas yarned as a wave of exhaustion hit her, despite just waking from sleep. 

The sunlight striking the chair called her name even though the rational parts of her brain told her to leave immediately before Jaina returned. Desire won out as Sylvanas found herself reclining in the chair, basking in the morning sunlight. One moment wouldn’t hurt, she rationalized as she closed her eyes. 

Drawing in a deep breath, Sylvanas promptly fell asleep. 

Jaina returned to her room to check up on Lady Mischief only to find an uninvited visitor in her room. The visitor’s long elegant elven ears poked out from beyond the chair’s back. Casting a sound reduction spell, Jaina quietly moved to deal with the intruder. 

“ _Windrunner_ ,” Jaina snarled, “What the hell are _you_ doing here?” The last thing she expected was to see the missing Warchief relaxing in her room like she owned the place, in her cloak no less. 

Sylvanas woke slightly colder as something blocked her sunlight and called out her name. It was one very angry Jaina Proudmoore. Rather than panicking, Sylvanas rose from the chair and stretched out. “Hey, Jaina,” she called out with a smile. 

The Lord Admiral chose to ignore the way she drew out her name. Jaina quickly grabbed the forsaken elf by the wrist. “Why did you claw your way out of hiding?!” She growled, looking the woman over for any concealed weapons. The garment left little to the imagination as she realized Sylvanas was only wearing her cloak. 

“ _Claw_?” Sylvanas chuckled with a Cheshire grin. Jaina was unamused, and her eyes glowed white with arcane energy. “One night I'm sick as a dog, and the next morning I’m a cat,” Sylvanas explained plainly. 

Jaina already had her suspicions but hearing it from Sylvanas’ own mouth confirmed it all. It wasn’t that hard to connect the cat’s blue eyes to Sylvanas’ own as well as the markings. Jaina furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed some key differences from the elf in her room and the Warchief from her memories. The most notable one was the bright blue eyes staring back at her. 

They should have been blood red. 

There was more at play than a haywire spell. “Sylvanas, how long have your eyes been blue?” 

Sylvanas bared her fangs as she growled, “Don’t mock me, mage!” 

Jaina tightened her hold on Sylvanas’ wrists as her anger rose with every breath she took, and that’s when Jaina felt it. 

A pulse. 

Without thinking, Jaina ducked her head down to rest an ear on Sylvanas chest. There it was the sound of her heart beating. 

“Jaina, what the hell!” Sylvanas cried, shoving the woman off her. 

Sylvanas didn’t know, but it was the only explanation for everything, Jaina’s broken spell designed to end the forsaken did work but not as expected. Rather than killing her, it returned Sylvanas to life. 

“Sylvanas, you might want to sit down.” 

“ _Spit_. It. Out. Mage.” 

“You’re alive.” 

Sylvanas barely registered how she got in front of the bathroom mirror, but there it was her reflection. She was greeted by the face of the Ranger-General, the hero who died protecting her people rather than the shell of her former self. 

She felt the scars the marred her fair complexion, a reminder of the day Athras raised her and violated her rest. Likewise, the scar from Frostmourne was still a reminder of her failure. That she couldn’t save the quel'dorei. Like she couldn’t save the forsaken but… 

A knock came from the door, startling Sylvanas. “Sylvanas, you okay in there?” 

“I’m fine,” Sylvanas replied. Her mouth was parched, “Actually, could you get me a drink.” 

“Sure. I’ve also left some clothes out on the bed for you.” 

Sylvanas changed into the white linen shirt and dark brown breeches that Jaina left for her. The shirt still let the drafty keep’s chill air penetrate her bones, so she donned Jaina’s cloak once more. Jaina was taking longer than she should have. Something must have held her up, and Sylvanas figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a walk down to the kitchen. 

Someone saw her cloak and grabbed her arm from behind. “Jaina,” the person called out, “I’m glad I--” Sylvanas turned around, prompting the voice of Katherine Proudmoore to stop dead in her tracks. 

“Windrunner!” Katherine yelled as the guards moved in to restrain the Banshee Queen. She drew her sword and prepared to run the elf threw. 

Glass shattered and water spilled on the stone floors as a female voice yelled, “Don’t!” Jaina appeared between her mother’s sword and the Warchief of the Horde and blurted out the first excuse that came to her mind. “She’s my emotional support elf.” 

Laughter came from behind Jaina as Sylvanas echoed her previous statement, “Emotional support elf?” 

Katherine’s eyes widened as she realized what was happening. She sheathed her sword and called off the guards. 

Sylvanas was tense as the older Proudmoore hadn’t spoken since calling off the guards and was walking past her daughter towards her. She was confused after reading the woman’s body language. Apparently, she wanted to hug her? Sylvanas didn’t argue with that assessment and prepared to receive her hug with open arms. 

Katherine’s palm collided with Sylvanas’ face with a loud crack and echoed in the room. “That's for breaking my daughter's heart.” 

Before Sylvanas’ brain could figure out what was going on, arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a firm embrace. 

“And this is for watching over my daughter,” Katherine said as Sylvanas returned her hug. 

_So Katherine doesn’t completely hate me._ Sylvanas concluded from her mixed messages. Finally, her brain caught up and recalled what Katherine said earlier. 

“Wait! You liked me?!” 

“Yes!” Jaina yelled, blushing, recalling all the times she hinted at Sylvanas who preoccupied with her ranger duties and was completely oblivious to her flirting. “You…” she sighed, “you idiot.” 

* * *

Sylvanas Windrunner stepped down as Warchief of the Horde. Thrall returned and reprised his role as Warchief. The public knowledge was that Saurfang after giving a long inspiring speech convinced Thrall to return. Or that's what they went with. Sylvanas heard from one of her spies that the convincing speech was “The Horde is lost… like its Warchief.” _Absolutely_ _fucking brilliant_. 

Thrall regained control of the horde as Azshara launched her attack. Rather than waste their supplies on continuing their war between each other, the Alliance and the Horde teamed up to end Azshara’s threat. With Azeroth in relative peace, Jaina chose to step down and named her mother as Lord Admiral. Soon afterward, Sylvanas and Jaina married and disappeared to live civilian lives far away from their former lifestyles. 

They moved far away to a cabin in the woods where Jaina learned all about Sylvanas’ weird quirks. For example, Sylvanas’ preference to eat raw, er rare meat. She argued that what Jaina did to meat as a sin, ruining perfectly good meat by overcooking it into oblivion. Jaina’s rebuttal was wanting to live to an old age rather than dying from food poisoning. 

“You _barely_ cook the thing.” 

“ _Lies!_ I cook the sides.” 

“That thing is practically _moving_!” 

“And yours is _rubber_.” 

Yet somehow, Sylvanas’ fork would still find its way over to Jaina’s plate to eat her so-called rubber steak. 

Jaina arched an eyebrow. “Rubber, you say?” 

“Your plate is magical, even rubber tastes fantastic.” 

Another time, Sylvanas nearly gave her a heart attack. Sylvanas called out to Jaina who opened her eyes only to be greeted by a very dead deer in her face. Sylvanas decided to drag the creature through the house and into the bedroom just to show it off to her. 

Jaina calmed down her heart and drew in a deep breath. “Sylvanas, _why_?” she asked, puzzled on why Sylvanas didn’t leave it outside and call her out later to see. 

Sylvanas brushed it off as residual “cat brainedness,” a side effect from her spell. Only later did Jaina learn from Alleria that Sylvanas had that tendency dating way back into her childhood where she would proudly show her kills off to their mother. 

* * *

The sun rose as Jaina sat in bed looking at gift Velanora and Anya gave them. It was the original picture of cat Sylvanas slapping Nathanos. Jaina loved it enough to get it framed and had it permanently displayed by her bedside on the end table. 

“I still don’t know why you love that photo so much,” Sylvanas said, yawning. 

“It’s my favorite wedding gift we got.” Jaina placed the frame back down on the end table before turning to face her wife. “But I am glad I fixed the spell, so it didn’t turn the forsaken into animals.” Jaina paused as a grin spread across her face, and Sylvanas suppressed a groan as she knew exactly where Jaina was heading. “But then they would be the _Furr_ saken!” 

“But dear, you’d have to turn them into mole-rats or hairless cats.” 

“Cool, I can call them all Nathanos.” 

“Wow,” Sylvanas said in between laughter, “don’t be mean to all the hairless animals.” Sylvanas sat up as she rained it in, “Besides you said we can’t have more cats.” 

“You have three. You’re fine.” Jaina joked as she lightly pushed Sylvanas back down on the bed. 

Sylvanas pulled the younger woman into a hug on top of her. “Says the person who keeps feeding the strays.” 

“Okay,” Jaina conceded, returning the warm embrace and resting her head on Sylvanas’ chest. “Between the both of us, we have five.” 

Jaina closed her eyes as she listened to the elven woman’s heart beat. A low vibrating sound joined the rhythmic beats. “Sylvanas, are you purring?” 

The sound stopped, and Sylvanas peaked opened her eyes and smiled. “No, you’re imagining things, dalah'surfal.” She closed her eyes again, and the sound returned. 

Jaina grinned and closed her eyes as they both fell back asleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> Sylvanas loves blue (very, very rare) steak, fight me.
> 
> >.> May or may not have added a She-ra reference…
> 
> PS: The more I think of Saurfang's lines in “Safe Haven” the saltier I get. Grrr [Vial of Salt]


End file.
